


paint splashes and blood splatters

by Gemini_Baby



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Brotherly Affection, Brothers, Damian Wayne-centric, Dick Grayson Gets a Hug, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Batman, Dick Grayson is a Good Brother, Dick Grayson-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Gets A Hug, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is a good brother, Jason Todd-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Siblings, Sibling Love, Whump, YeetDC2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26190595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemini_Baby/pseuds/Gemini_Baby
Summary: Set during the time when Bruce was presumed dead, Tim was searching for Batman, Dick was forced to be what he did not want to be and Damian didn't know where he stoodOR: Dick is tired, Jason's reunion with the family goes differently, Talia is a decent mom and Damian is a traumatized baby. Somehow, somewhere Dick, Jason and Damian find a family in each other
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne
Comments: 20
Kudos: 128





	1. Catch Me When I fall

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all like it ♥

Dick sits on the rooftop ledge, feet not moving. His body is still, rigid. He wants to move, maybe just a little but he can't. Because right now, he is not Dick. He is Batman. The one thing he didn't want to be. He is Batman. And he is tired. He is exhausted, and every thing feels too much. 

While he is lost in thoughts, he somehow missed someone approaching. He suppresses a flinch when he notices someone is sitting beside him, on the ledge.

"Dickie." 

Relief washes over him, because at least it's his brother and he has not been snuck on by some rogue. And then worry settles in his stomach because Jason should be at the penthouse, with Alfred and Damian. Not here. Dick glances at Jason from the corner of his eyes. He is here, as Jason. As a civilian. ' _ If zombies would be called civilians, Dickie'  _ suspiciously echoes in Jason's voice, in Dick's thoughts. There is a quiet snicker, next to him and maybe Dick has said all this out loud. 

"Go back." It's all he says. It's all he manages to say. 

But the presence of Jason is still beside him. It is comforting. It wants him to tear his hair out. 

His life is full of paradoxes. 

There's silence from Jason's side for two minutes. He never makes a move to go back, though. 

"Cowl off. I need to talk to you, not Batman." Jason says, looking ahead. 

He's not good for this. No wonder none of the rogues takes him seriously. He's just a second-hand copy, a replacement. He's cosplaying Batman not even doing a good job at it. He's useless. Before his thoughts spiral more, a soft voice cuts them. 

"Jay." Dick protests. 

"Follow me to the batmobile", Jason says and makes the beeline to the batmobile. 

Dick thinks he has no choice but to follow Jay, so he does. 

\--------------------

They are now in the batmobile. The vehicle is spacious. The vehicle feels suffocating. 

"I want you to take off the cowl. Because I want to talk to my brother." 

And Dick does just that. He removes the cowl and turns towards his brother in the seat of the batmobile. 

"Let's go home." 

There's a protest from him instantly because the patrol has not even been for two hours. 

"You need rest - " 

He does not need rest. He hasn't done anything to become exhausted. Hence, he doesn't deserve any rest. He opens his mouth - 

"- and hot chocolate"

He would have said no but hot chocolate and rest sounded nice, tempting.

"And Gotham?" A genuine question. Because if Dick goes home, who is going to look over the city? 

"I don't know. Let's go home." Jason is adamant. 

"Can't leave. Unless you have a plan." Dick is batman. He can't just leave like this. 

"I am right now worried more about my brother who is exhausted and might crash than the city which hates itself." Jason says while moving Dick's hair away from his eyes. 

He is touched by the sentiment but ouch. Is his exhaustion so visible? Is he not good at anything anymore? He ever was? 

Dick realizes he is very exhausted to even protest. They end up going back to the manor.

\------------------

Damian is asleep in his room upstairs when they return to the penthouse. A rare occurrence, but Dick is not questioning it right now.

Jason makes some hot chocolate for him which Dick quickly gulps down. Jason has a look when he looks at Dick but Dick can't tell what it is about. Jason just passes another mug of hot chocolate to Dick. 

  
  
  


Half an hour later, Dick ends up making instant noodles instead of spaghetti he had promised. Dick didn't  _ have  _ to cook. The only reason he is doing it is to feel that he is still in control of something… anything. He feels too sleepy. Even keeping his eyes open for the noodles to cook has been a huge task. Luckily no one complains about it but Dick still feels bad about it.

They finish their dinner if anyone would call it dinner and then they go to their bedrooms. 

  
  


\-----------------------

  
  
  


Sleep was very close and yet so far away. The whole night Dick would fall asleep repeatedly and then him waking up. He hated the whole night because he didn't finish patrol because of exhaustion and needing to sleep and when he fell in his bed, sleep tortured him.

He became even more exhausted and restless. 

  
  


\--------------------------

  
  


Someone enters his room, coming towards the bed and adjusting the sheets and blanket on him.

  
  


"Mmm?"

"Breakfast, Dickie." 

It is Jason's voice and Dick turns to his side where Jason is sitting on the bed. Dick doesn't open his eyes but turns his head upwards, in question. 

"Brought you breakfast."

Brought? 

Things are not computing. 

There are fingers in his hair carding through them. The motion is soothing and it lessens some of the headache. 

"Didn't sleep?" 

Dick feels embarrassed because he couldn't even do a small thing; sleeping. He groans. 

"Hey, it's okay." 

It's not. 

There's a kiss placed on his forehead and the fingers continue their movement through his hair. 

"How about you go and quickly fresh up, we have breakfast when you return and afterwards we cuddle and sleep?" 

That sounds nice. 

Dick doesn't want to leave the warmth or escape the company of his brother. 

"I will eat all the French toasts otherwise." 

That does it.

Dick untangles himself from the blankets and races to the bathroom. Sounds of chuckles echoing in the room. 

  
  


\--------------------

A week has gone by. Dick is still tired. Right now he is in the study room, having a really bad headache and trying to sort out many things. 

The door to the study opens and Jason walks in. "Ace and Dog need to go out for a walk." 

Ace is Bruce's dog and Dog is Jason's. Talia had let Jay keep a dog and didn't tell him Dog is a ridiculous name. That speaks volumes of how fond she is of Jason. 

"Okay?", Dick replies. 

"We are going to walk them in the fields behind the manor." 

"Alright." Dick says and turns his back to what he was doing ; standing and sorting files. 

  
  


"Dickie" 

"Yeah?" 

"Join us. We will walk them and play." 

"You both go." 

  
  


"Come on, Dick. All work, patrol and no play make Dickie a tired boy." Dick gives Jason a look. 

"Oops. That doesn't sound good. Sorry."

"It's fine. Just threw me off for a bit." Dick waves him off. He really needs to get the work sorted soon. 

  
  


"You have been swarmed too much with work and need some break."

Dick turns towards Jason's direction. "I will take a break after I finish the work."

  
  


Jason just stares at Dick. Because Dick has not been taking a break for months. 

  
  


" I will take a break. Pinky promise."

Jason resists sighing. 

" Alternatively, how about you take a break right now and we all help you with the work afterwards?"

"Alternatively, how about you leave and you all don't make the things more difficult for me than they already are?!" 

Dick snaps and realizes what he did after he had finished saying it. He never meant to snap and definitely not at Jason, who was only trying to be there for Dick. The failed patrols, the arrogant board members of WE, the lawyers hired by some of the greedy elites, Thomas Eliot's schemes, Tim's absence, Dick's lack of sleep and loss of appetite was the reason for him growing agitated and angry. It also resulted in displaced anger. Tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes.

Jason turns to leave, just like Dick has asked. But why does Jason leaving feels bad, then?

The word sorry is on the tip of his tongue but Dick is not sure if that would make a difference. 

Before taking the last step out the door, Jason turns around and walks back towards where Dick is standing. He approaches him and honestly? Dick expects a punch. His expectations aren't met though.

Instead, arms wrap around him and his head is pressed towards his brother's chest. He would have protested the hug, citing he doesn't deserve it. But maybe, he is too touch starved these days to deny the slightest of embrace. 

"I -.... I" 

"Sshhh"

  
  


The arms around him tighten a bit. And it feels like a dam is broken. 

Dick breaks into hiccups and sobs. He hears some embarrassing sounds and he would forever want to forget he was the producer of the sounds.

There's a damp spot growing on Jason's shirt where Dick's face is resting against it. 

  
  


Dick's sobs just get louder and louder.

His knees soon give out and he almost falls to the floor, only Jason's arms and quick attempt at balancing him saving him from the harsh impact.

They sit on the floor. Arms are still wrapped around him and his face is near Jason's chest. His head tucked under Jason's chin. The hiccups and sobs just keep coming. He doesn't want anyone to see how bad and weakly he had been holding himself together. But he failed at that too. Now, he's just being a cry baby. 

  
  


"Sorr-"

"Sshhh. No apologizing."

"But-"

"Dick, no apologizing and no buts. Let the tears out. You need it." 

Dick lets out more sobs. It all has been building up for months. Today, he crashed. 

There are more hiccups and then to make it all worse, his stomach growls. Great. 

He would have pretended it didn't happen but then there were more growls. Embarrassingly loud growls. 

  
  


"You forgot to eat again." 

"Not feeling really hungry" 

"Those sounds say otherwise."

"I don't want to eat." He just wants to curl up against his brother, cry and maybe sleep. 

"What would you like to eat? I can cook it if you don't want to eat what is in the manor." 

"I don't really know", he manages to say between sniffles, hiccups and sobs. "And I am really sorry."

"Hey, look at me", Jason tilts his face upwards, "It's okay."

Dick doesn't know what to say. He just wants to curl against his brother. He needs to eat but he doesn't want to. 

"How does a small bowl of egg fried rice sounds?" 

"Good?" 

"Okay, come on. I am making egg fried rice. You are eating them. And then we are cuddling." 

"The dogs?" 

"I will ask Alfred to accompany Damian." 

\---------------------

They spend the afternoon curled around each other. Dick couldn't get the work done today. But that's okay, he thinks. He has his brother with him. 

  
  
  



	2. Pinky Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick, Jason and the promises they made to each other, throughout the years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Syngaly, who listened, supported and cheered me on every time I rambled about this AU and fic, and HuiLian, who beta read the chapter and made it better. Love you both <3

Dick has come to the manor. Bruce has taken in a kid, some months ago, and recently, the kid has started being Robin. He wears Dick’s family colours. He flies at night. He fights beside Bruce... Dad… Bruce. Bruce is his dad too, now.

Dick... Dick isn’t sure where he stands in all this. B adopted the kid. But Dick had been his ward. _Ward_. A relationship that stops at hitting the age of eighteen years. 

What is Dick to Bruce? What is Dick to Jason? If Jason is Bruce's son, is he Dick's brother? 

So many questions echo in his mind. Alfred calls them away for dinner. The dinner goes uneventful.

  
  
  
  
  


"Robin gives me magic," the kid, Jason, says with eyes too big and shining with determination and hope.

He says it with such conviction that Dick believes that. The boy is his little brother now. _"No",_ Dick replies to Jason. 

_"Oh"_ , that’s all Jason says. He sounds crushed. Like someone just told him that the stars he loves are fake.

"You have your own magic", Dick tells Jason.

"You don't have to feel forced to spare my feelings." Jason’s reply is very resigned. As if he has accepted it.

"I didn't mean -", Dick tries to clarify because he didn’t mean it _like that._

"It's fine." Jason sounds defeated, accepting of his fate. He sounds like someone whose whole world was converted into a glass globe, only to be shattered in many tiny shards. Moreover, he sounds like someone who was forced to accept the glass shard, which was used to stab him in the heart, as a _gift_.

"You have your own magic, Little Wing", Dick tells him. That is Dick’s _brother_ , and he has his own magic, _his capabilities, his skills, his determination and his hope._

Jason looks away, stares at the other side of the room, trying to melt, willing the carpet to swallow him. "I don't." 

"You do. And it doesn't matter if you are Robin or not. You would still have that magic." Dick tells him what he actually meant. His voice is not soft when he says it, but it is not harsh either. Dick hopes that his tone, words, and volume convey that he means it, that Jason has Dick’s blessings, that his brother is precious and Dick is ready to fight the world for him. He hopes.

"Really?" Jason asks and his eyes have hope and shine in them.

"Yes", Dick tries to affirm it confidently. _He has a little brother! He is excited. But how does one talk to their younger siblings? Dick didn’t have a sibling before, all for himself._

"Promise?" 

"Pinky promise."

That day was the start of their relationship, of them being brothers.

___________________________

_‘Pinky Promise’_ soon enough became a code between Dick and Jason. A promise that they would never break. A promise that they made out of their own will. A promise that they meant to keep and never break. A promise that was made without any obligation.

In their lives, they don’t know who is watching and when, who is playing and impersonating who and when. So Pinky promise also became a code for those times too.

Basically, the difference between “promise” and “pinky promise” was that _promise_ was said out of necessity or had the same vibes as “I am fine”. In contrast, a _pinky promise_ was something they said without the interference of any outside source. They meant to keep the promise with every fibre of their being.

___________________________

  
  


Dick had come to stay at manor for some days. He had come in the third week of December. Jason and Dick sure had teamed up, having fun around the manor and also adding to Bruce’s grey hair.

But Dick had fallen ill. He has a high fever and couldn't keep the lunch down. His throat aches, his muscles protest and his bones complain. 

He is tired, and bored. Nothing keeps his interest. He wants to move but Bruce has asked him to rest. Not like Dick has any energy to even move, no matter how much he wants to.

He lies on his bed, his eyes closed, in his room in the manor. Sleep far far away. 

Around 4 pm, he hears a light creak. Dick opens one eye. There is a slight gap in the door to his room. "Jay." 

Dick can feel, more than he sees, Jason jumping.

Jason enters, stopping in the middle of the room. Probably feeling awkward. Dick waves a hand, calling Jason over. 

Jason sits on the side of his bed, near Dick's head. 

"Eat something?"

"Can't", he croaks and adds, "And don't want to." In reality, he doesn't want the 7th trip to the bathroom or to reach out for the bucket, in the same afternoon. 

Jason looks at him. But Dick can't read what is in his eyes. Dick is having problems with keeping his own eyes open. His eyes feel heavy and his head aches.

"What would you like to do?" 

"Sleep?" Dick manages to say. His headaches are too much though and hence he doubts that he would even fall asleep. Everything feels too much. The pillow below him feels too heavy. Uneven and uncomfortable, with a smooth surface like a large rock.

Next to him, Jason changes and adjusts his position. He pulls Dick's head towards his lap, and Dick lets him. Jason's lap feels soft. It feels like home. It feels like his little brother.

Jason runs his fingers through Dick's hair. As opposed to any other sensations or touches which have been making him uncomfortable and putting him on edge, the motion of fingers running through his hair is a soothing feeling. 

"J." 

"Yeah, Dick. I am here. I got you." Jason promises and had everything not been feeling too much, Dick would have smiled. He would have openly shown how much he appreciates the gesture. 

"Go and play or read", he ends up saying instead. Because Jason shouldn't have to feel forced to sit here besides Dick, who is sick and useless. 

"You are not useless Dickie." Jason tries to reassure Dick. Dick realizes that he must have said that part out loud then. 

"Go", Dick still insists. "You don't have to feel forced to take care of me." Jason should not be here. He should be outside, having fun. 

"No one is forcing me. I care about you, Dick. I always will."

  
  


(Jason had once shared some tidbits about his prior life. He used to take care of his mother too. Dick feels guilty and bad because Jason's reaction of taking care of anyone sick is kind of automatic. It would not be farfetched to think the kid is scared. Scared that Dick might go away too.) 

Dick wants to promise his brother that he is not going anywhere. That he is not abandoning his little brother. But how should he word it in a way that it doesn't feel bad, that it doesn't put Jason on edge. "Jay -", Dick tries. 

But Jason is quick to cut him off. "I promise you that. Pinky promise." Jason promises as he drops a kiss to Dick's temple.

Dick takes a shuddering breath. Everything feels too much right now. Sensations, sounds, light, _emotions_. Dick's emotions are currently all over the place. 

"And I you", Dick promises the same to Jason. He wants to say so much more, to promise him all the other things but those three words are all he manages to say. His aching throat screams that those are a lot of words. His heart cries that these are too few. 

Dick closes his eyes and focuses on the feeling of the fingers in his hair, smoothly carding them. The blanket of darkness and unconsciousness soon engulf him. 

___________________________

"I will fall", Jason shouts so that Dick hears him over the motor sounds, while also tightening his arms around Dick. Jason Todd is not afraid of many things. The list of things he is afraid of is very small. Currently, Dick's motorbike driving tops it. Jason's heart leaps to his throat while Dick takes a curve.

"You will not", Dick answers back while speeding up.

This was _so not_ what Jason had thought would happen when they both "stole" a heavy bike from the vehicle stash and left for this outing.

_This was the scariest thing ever._

"Dick, I -", he stops saying because he doesn't know if it would be okay to admit that he is afraid. What if he gets kicked out because he was too chicken for a bike ride? What if Dick stops the bike here and now, cancels the fun outing and drops Jason at the manor?

"Yeah?" Dick asks. 

Jason debates lying at first but rejects the idea. It's Dick, it's Dickie, his brother. He will not abandon Jason. "I am scared", he admits. 

"Jay, I will never let you fall -" 

"Dick", Jason interrupts because really? Jason is not worried about himself falling and crashing. He is fine with it. What he is actually worried about is that Dick might hit something and get injured. The ride is actually pretty fun ~~and Dick's driving is not really bad~~. Jason is scared about them crashing to something, despite this place being an empty ground, and Dick being injured.

Dick continues however though."And if you ever fall, I will be there to catch you. _Promise."_

That sentence might be the most beautiful and heart-touching Jason has ever heard in his life. And Dick had no need to make that promise, and yet he did. 

"Dick", Jason calls for Dick.

"Yeah?" Dick asks while taking another turn and doing a cool trick. 

"I will never let you fall either.", Jason promises. 

"I am not the one scared right now." 

"I mean it Dickie. I will be your net. _Promise."_

_This was the best evening ever._

After the biking adventures, Dick ruffled Jason's hair and bought him a lot of ice cream. Something shiny shone and reflected in his eyes. 

They both ended up having an ice cream eating competition and consuming ridiculous amounts of ice cream. 

\---------------------------------------

They are here, in a park today. Dick tells Jason about all the uninteresting things about college. Jason tells him about his English class and his upcoming play. Dick feels proud and ruffles his hair.

“No fair!” Jason protests.

“And why is it not fair?” Dick asks, as they continue their walk, away from the crowd.

“Because you are tall”, Jason says as if that explains everything.

“And?” Dick asks. Because ‘you are tall’, what does it even mean?

“I should be able to ruffle your hair too”, Jason says.

It gives Dick a slight pause. “Uh-huh.”

“Equality says that this is my right.”

“Sure, Jay, sure”, Dick says as he ruffles Jason’s hair again.

“ _Hey._ ”

  
  
  


They both sit on the grass, some distance away from the pond where all the ducks are. They had bought some popcorn, to throw it to the ducks. Dick and Jason sit close. Dick is about to open his packet of popcorn to throw when Jason catches his attention.

“Dickie?”

“Yeah?” Dick asks Jason as he turns towards him, to ask if something has bothered Jason or if Jason had a change of mind and now wants to go home.

“May I?” Jason asks. Dick gives him a questioning look and Jason points towards Dick’s hair.

_Oh._

Dick ducks his head. The kid asked for permission though. “Yeah, sure.”

Jason reaches out and ruffles Dick’s hair. It feels…different, Dick thinks. But it also feels heart touching. They both laugh. 

They turn towards the pond and reach for the packets. As Jason is opening his, Dick says “Thank you for asking permission.” Jason bumps his shoulder with Dick’s shoulder and nudges Dick’s leg with his.

They feed the ducks. The sun will set in a couple of hours.

Evening finds them both sitting next to each other, Jason’s head over Dick’s shoulder and Dick’s head over Jason’s.

  
  
  


“Dick”, Jason says but does not move his head or his body. He makes no movement to move away. He doesn’t give any indication if he wants to leave.

“Yes, Jay?” Dick asks, as he sees the blending colours of orange, purple, red and yellow. He tries to memorize them, in hopes of painting a reimagination of it on the weekend.

“I will always ask for permission, okay? I promise. _Pinky promise._ ” 

And isn’t that one of the sweetest things ever? He has a little brother who respects his boundaries and loves him. “Thank you Jay.” Dick is smiling, even though Jason can’t see it, Dick hopes that Jason hears it in his voice.

“Jay?” Dick calls for him while Dick tries to memorize the shape of the cloud.

“Yes?”

“Do you want me to not ruffle your hair? I won’t do it if that makes you uncomfortable. Or I will ask for permission.”

“Dickie, it’s okay. You can ruffle my hair. I don’t mind. You are the only one who has the permission to do it anytime okay?”

“That means a lot.”

“Hugs...Don’t surprise me with the hugs okay?”

“Okay. P-”

“Hugs are okay. The ones which catch me by surprise scare me, sometimes.”

“Permission for hugs is okay?”

“Yes.”

“I will always ask for permission for the hug. Promise. _Pinky promise_.”

  
  
  


The sky looks pretty. The hue and the shades make it captivating, tempting.

“Are you planning to draw or paint it?” Jason asks and Dick is a bit surprised. He never told Jason that he draws or paints sometimes.

(He took a break from it, or more like life had taken a break from Dick. College, Titans, Mental Health. It had been a lot on Dick’s plate. Still is.)

So was Jay being sarcastic or genuine, Dick isn’t sure. Dick doesn’t share much about his hobbies, that are outside of public knowledge, because of the sneers and the nature of people’s remarks. Dick has not had nice experiences with his peers. A tiny part of him is scared that Jason will mock him or his interest. The other part says that this is Dick’s brother; his little brother. Dick swallows a little and says, “Yes!”

“Nice”, Jason replies. Jay’s reply is genuine and maybe Dick feels a little bad that he ever doubted his little brother and their relationship.

“Will you show me?” Jason asks.

“Uh”, Dick is not against showing any of his works to Jason. He is not sure if he will succeed in capturing the scenery. And if it would even be presentable. An artwork that he would feel good and proud while showing it to others.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to”, Jason says. His head is on Dick’s shoulder. Some of his hair reaches Dick’s neck and they tickle a bit.

“It isn’t that.” That is all Dick says. He is not sure how he should word it. He is not against Jason seeing any of his sketches. He is not sure if… well, he is not sure what he is feeling insecure about.

“Mmmhmm. I just want you to know that I support you in your hobbies”, Jason says, "I always will".

“I love you, little brother.” Dick wishes he could say Little Wing but they are in the park and Dick doesn't want to risk anything.

“I love you too Dickiebird.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (there is a part two to the chapter _pinky promises_ too. This got a bit long so I ended up splitting it into two chapters)
> 
> Kudos, comments, bookmarks, and subscriptions are always welcome and appreciated. 💙

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, Kudos, Bookmarks and subscriptions are always welcome and appreciated ♥


End file.
